Freehold title (company vs deed of trust)

deFoix

Hi me again I'd be very grateful of some advice/insight.

I am nearing completion of a leasehold flat (FTB). There are 3 other flats being sold by the same vendor in the same 4-story townhouse. My sale agreement says that the vendor will transfer the freehold interest for consideration of £1 two months after notice has been given that all the flats are sold. I've been told by the EA that the other flats are also near completion.

I've read on here that some are of the opinion that the best way to manage this is that the title of the freehold is held by a company and 4 shares and directorships are issued (1 per leasehold owner). The other method is to jointly own the title deeds but set up a Deed of Trust.

Personally I'm leaning towards the company route unless anyone here can advise otherwise.

What's the best way of going about this. Should I try and contact the other buyers now through the EA to get agreement? How would the company actually work and how much would this normally cost us in fees to set up?

Thanks for any help.

dimbo61

What does your solicitor have to say on the issue

deFoix

Nothing so far as he appears to be busy with btl sales before the tax year ends. I should have mentioned this in my OP but there's a sense of "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it". I have brought this up over the phone before.

Also it's not just me and my solicitor; there are 3 other buyers to deal with. Also as you may find from my other posts solisitors seem to disagree quite often about how to go about things in my limited experience.

Regards.

deFoix

I found the quoted text from the Leasehold Advisory Service however it's not unequivocal. A colleague at work said that the management company route was a pain in the expletive and he once got a letter from HMRC telling him to pay a big fine for not filing the tax returns. Having said that an accountant could do these each year for a small fee surely?

Are management companies more common that joint freehold?
Does anyone have a strong preference over the other?

Thanks,

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=102

"Where the building contains only a few flats it is not always appropriate to form a company to share the freehold, as for so few leaseholders this can be prove cumbersome, especially if there are only two leaseholders in the building."